Legislature honors diver who drowned in 1961 recovery mission

Resolution honors diver who drowned

Apr. 17, 2013

Sally Young, (center right) the widow of Alton Lombard Sr., chats at the Vermont Statehouse with her family and members of the Vermont State Police Dive Team and Marine Division who are attempting to recover the remains of her husband, who drowned in 1961. / FREE PRESS

Written by

Free Press Staff Writer

A House Concurrent Resolution commending the heroic rescue efforts and sacrifice of Alton Lombard Sr.

More

ADVERTISEMENT

MONTPELIER — It took the state of Vermont 52 years to formally acknowledge the death of Alton Lombard of Milton.

The Legislature has approved a resolution noting the heroic efforts of Lombard, who drowned while helping the Vermont State Police try to recover the bodies of two drowned fishermen in Lake Champlain in February 1961.

The concurrent House resolution, spearheaded by Milton Republican Reps. Don Turner and Ron Hubert, also praises the state police for recent efforts to try to locate Lombard’s body to give his family peace of mind.

The resolution noted the Vermont State Police did not have a trained scuba team in 1961, so they turned to amateur divers Lombard, 24, and Robert Dewyea, 22, of North Hero to look for the two missing fishermen a few days after they went through the ice.

Lombard was the father of three children, ages 1-4, and his wife, Sally Lombard — now Sally Young — was expecting their fourth child. Young, in a November 2012 Burlington Free Press interview, said that after the drowning she had heard little from the state and was uninterested in suing.

She noted her husband had died in Lake Champlain, which he loved, and while he was helping recover two drowning victims who had worked with him at General Electric.

The one-page resolution notes “the General Assembly commends the heroic 1961 rescue efforts and sacrifice of Alton Lombard Sr. and also the Vermont State Police for its continuing search for his remains in Lake Champlain.”

State police, using sonar equipment purchased last summer, believe they have located a 1955 station wagon that plunged through the ice in 1961 with the two fishermen, Leon G. LaRocque, 45, of Burlington and Robert Pollinger, 58, of Winooski. Their bodies were later recovered by a New York dive team.

Lombard’s lifeline became disconnected.

At the Statehouse in Montpelier last week, Lombard’s family members stood and received an ovation from legislators. Young said she and the children were touched by the state’s gesture.

(Page 2 of 3)

“It’s a nice recognition,” Young said. “It makes us feel like he wasn’t forgotten. It brought back a lot of memories.”

Also on hand at the Statehouse were son Alton Lombard Jr. and his wife, Kate; daughter Maria and husband John Gifford; and son Andre Lombard and wife, Julie. A second daughter, Sonia, is in Ohio.

The resolution is signed by Lt. Gov. Phil Scott as president of the Senate and House Speaker Shap Smith.

Seeking the resolution

Reps. Turner and Hubert said they knew little about the specifics of the 1961 case until the Burlington Free Press ran two stories in November about the latest state police efforts to find Lombard’s body.

“Growing up as a child I was aware of it; there was a connection between my family and the Lombard family. I never knew the details, and we never really asked about it,” Turner said at the Statehouse.

“We wanted to show the family that the state actually appreciates the loss of their father and husband,” Turner continued. “It recognizes him for what he sacrificed. It was great to have the state police here as part of this. They continue to work on it, so bringing them all together was important.”

He added: “It is one of those things in this job that you can actually do that is rewarding.”

Hubert, who operates the Middle Road Market in Milton, said he learned about the case six or eight years ago while in the store.

“We are finally recognizing their father and husband for what he did and he gave to us,” Hubert said.

He said the death of Alton Lombard might have had an earlier impact on Vermont.

“He is one that helped spur the actual state dive team, because there wasn’t one,” Hubert said. “We owe this family at least this much.”

Looking ahead

Vermont State Police Sgt. J.R. Underhill, commander of the Marine Division and the senior diver, said the search for Lombard will resume in a couple weeks.

He said a civilian trainer for the new sonar equipment, which cost $41,000, will work with the state police for two days this spring. After that, police will continue to use their monthly training time to seek Lombard, his air tanks or any other evidence.

(Page 3 of 3)

Underhill took a special interest in the case after learning about it in the mid-1990s. The case got a major break Sept. 5, when Sgt. Trevor Carbo of the dive team used the new sonar equipment to locate the 1955 station wagon of the two missing fishermen. The state police had been focused on that area near South Hero.

The car is in about 90 feet of water off Stave Island.

Underhill, one of three state troopers on hand for the legislative recognition Friday, said he was pleased the Lombard family and state police were recognized.

“I am proud to be a member of the scuba team, and we can hopefully resolve this and give the family some peace of mind,” Underhill said. “It is a wonderful day for our organization, as well as the family.”

Young said she didn’t realize until last November that her husband’s case was even on the radar of officials.

“What is amazing to me,” she said, “is the dedication of the state police and how long they have been working on this, and the dedication of these young divers.”